Rafa – key to improving is attitude
RAFA Benitez insists a positive attitude is the most-important characteristic in determining whether a player is good enough to make the transition from the Championship to the Premier League.
Newcastle United signed six players during the summer window, but Benitez had hoped to recruit a far greater number in order to make his squad top-flight ready.
Instead, he was forced to make a judgement on the crop of players he already had at his disposal and decide which of them could cut it in the Premier League.
The likes of Lascelles, Hayden and Atsu have made the transition seamlessly, and Benitez insists their willingness to learn and ability to understand the game have been crucial to their success.
“Quality is not just that they can pass, they can put the ball in the top corner or things like that. It’s about whether they can understand the game, and whether they have the margin to improve,” Benitez replied when asked how he determines whether he believes a player can make the step up from the second tier to the top flight.
“Some players you can see that, maybe, they can improve a lot, and others who you think are close to their maximum level. It’s something you have to consider.
“When we signed Hayden, he is a young player so he can improve.
“How much? We don’t yet know. It depends on him too – on how much he wants to learn, if he listens to you and pays attention to details in the training sessions.
“For example Atsu. Some people were saying at the beginning: ‘Oh Atsu, why will we keep Atsu?’ But he is very cheap now, when you see the market he is very cheap, and you can see that he can improve.
The Spaniard is confident that there is plenty of room for his squad to develop, and has stressed on numerous occasions already this season that he has identified areas in which he believes they must get better.
How much each individuals can improve depends on how much information they absorb and put into practice, however.
“Then you have a lot of players, with it being a young squad, who can improve and get better. How much? It depends on each one individually,” Benitez said.